Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust

What Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust does

Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust (TCCT) was an independent UK conservation charity founded in 1999 and headquartered at Occombe Farm in Paignton, Devon. It managed over 1,700 acres of Torbay's most important natural landscapes — approximately 80% of the area's priority sites — including Berry Head National Nature Reserve, Cockington Country Park, Occombe Farm and more than 40 miles of coastal paths and bridleways. The trust was a partner of the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, held the Green Flag Award for Cockington Country Park for eleven consecutive years, and stewarded protected habitats including the UK's only Area of Special Protection (ASP) for mainland guillemots. Two wholly-owned subsidiaries — Torbay Coast & Countryside Enterprises Limited (TCCE) and South Devon Biomass Company Limited — handled trading and biomass activities.

TCCT operated a diversified, community-oriented revenue model with no proprietary technology. Core income streams included pay-when-you-leave car-parking fees at multiple Trust sites (processed via the Park with Ease automated platform at £2–£10.70 per session), membership subscriptions offering free parking and member discounts, ticketed events such as bat walks, bird-watching sessions and craft workshops (sold through Digitickets), donations and legacies, a Torbay Council management fee for stewarding Council-owned land, and trading income from the Occombe Farm cafe, farm shop and Park & Play attraction. Payments were processed through PCI-DSS compliant Worldpay, SagePay and PayPal integrations. Distribution was direct-to-consumer at physical sites across Torbay, supported by a website, email newsletters and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram). The trust served general public visitors, schools, members/supporters and corporate partners across Devon.

In October 2025, after reserves were substantially depleted by a COVID-disrupted 2021 Occombe Farm expansion and further squeezed by 2025 increases in national insurance and minimum wage combined with a cost-of-living-driven fall in trading income, the trustees placed TCCT and TCCE into creditors' voluntary liquidation. All employees were made redundant, PKF Francis Clark was appointed joint liquidator, and Torbay Council is working with the liquidator to transfer management of the sites to new stewards.

Name

Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust

Legal name

Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust

Website

https://countryside-trust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust was a UK conservation charity that managed over 1,700 acres of Torbay's natural landscapes, including Berry Head National Nature Reserve, Cockington Country Park and Occombe Farm. The trust entered creditors' voluntary liquidation in October 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nature Conservation and Outdoor Visitor Attractions

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Conservation charity services
• Nature reserve management
• Visitor attraction operations
• Environmental education programmes
• Community conservation volunteering

Headquarters

HQ city

Paignton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership subscriptions: The trust offered membership schemes that provided free parking, discounts, and exclusive member events. Membership was administered through direct relationships with supporters.
2. Car parking charges: Pay-when-you-leave parking system using Park with Ease automated technology. Charges ranged from £2 (up to 1 hour) to £10.70 (over 4 hours). Trust car parks included Berry Head, Anstey's Cove, Cockington sites, and Sharkham Point. These vital funds supported conservation work.
3. Visitor attractions and events: Occombe Farm visitor attraction with farm park, cafe, and animals. Events included lamb feeding (£10), bat walks (£8-10), bird watching walks (£15-35), craft workshops (£37), summer activity programs, and educational visits.
4. Donations and fundraising: Charitable donations including one-time gifts and gift aid donations. Legacies and fundraising appeals. The trust collected personal data to process donations and acknowledge receipt.
5. Torbay Council management fee: TCCT managed Council-owned land under various agreements. Torbay Council paid TCCT a management fee for its work, though this fee never covered the full cost of managing and conserving the sites.
6. Cafe and farm shop: Occombe Farm Cafe and rustic farm shop selling local produce. The cafe operated daily 9am-5pm with last hot food orders at 2.45pm.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TCCT managed and conserved over 1,700 acres of Torbay's natural landscapes, operating three main visitor destinations — Berry Head National Nature Reserve, Cockington Country Park, and Occombe Farm — alongside car parks, a farm shop and cafe, an annual membership scheme, paid educational and leisure events, and school-visit programmes. The Trust is now in creditors' voluntary liquidation as of October 2025.

Product overview

Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust operates a portfolio of conservation sites and visitor attractions across Torbay, Devon. The core offering comprises three main destinations: Berry Head National Nature Reserve (a coastal nature reserve with protected wildlife), Cockington Country Park (a historic 450-acre estate with formal gardens and craft studios), and Occombe Farm (a working farm attraction with play areas, cafe, and farm shop). The Trust supplements site visits with membership schemes offering free parking and exclusive events, educational programmes for schools, corporate partnership opportunities, and volunteering programmes. The organisation also manages multiple car parks across its estate using an external automated system. The Trust operated as a charitable conservation organisation managing Torbay Council-owned land until its October 2025 announcement of creditors' voluntary liquidation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Berry Head National Nature Reserve

Quantifiable outcome

• Protected nearly 900 guillemots at Berry Head - the largest mainland colony in the South West
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bays BrewerycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 May 2025Bays Brewery created a limited-edition guest ale called 'Evergreen' with 5% of proceeds going directly to TCCT's conservation work, raising over £1,000. The partnership has been expanded with Bays becoming a corporate partner, installing a microbrewery at Occombe Farm, adopting a farm animal, and planning team volunteer days. Pete Salmon, Director at Bays Brewery, stated their commitment to supporting the local landscape, wildlife, and community.
• Living Options / HeritageAbility ProjectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCCT worked closely with an access officer and Living Options' HeritageAbility Projects to introduce innovative schemes and materials ensuring accessibility for all visitors to natural sites.
• English Riviera UNESCO Global GeoparkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCCT was a proud partner of the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, caring for the Geopark's extraordinary places including stunning cliff tops, sandy beaches, pretty woodlands, working fishing ports, country parks, and nature reserves with unique geology and dramatic landscapes.
• Keep Britain TidyminorOthersKeep Britain Tidy manages the Green Flag Award scheme in partnership with Keep Wales Tidy, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, and Keep Scotland Beautiful, under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
• Life on the Edge ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCCT collaborated with the Life on the Edge project (supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund) for events including moth trapping at Berry Head and well-being activities. The project focuses on coastal landscape conservation and mental health.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Trust: The UK's largest conservation charity, managing heritage sites, countryside, and coast for public access. Most directly comparable mission, model, and reliance on memberships, donations, and retail/trading income across multiple sites.
• Dorset Wildlife Trust: Another regional Wildlife Trust running nature reserves, visitor programmes, and membership schemes in a coastal/Southwest context closely mirroring TCCT's portfolio.
• Cornwall Wildlife Trust: A neighbouring county Wildlife Trust with the same operating model: charity-run nature reserves, membership income, education programmes, and conservation-focused visitor engagement.
• Somerset Wildlife Trust: Regional Wildlife Trust operating multiple reserves and visitor sites in the South West. Functionally similar combination of conservation, education, and visitor-facing operations.
• Devon Wildlife Trust: Regional Wildlife Trust covering the same county as TCCT, managing nature reserves, running education programmes, and operating visitor experiences — the nearest geographic functional peer.
• The Land Trust: UK-wide charity that holds and manages green space and parkland for community access — closest model-level peer in terms of operating conserved land at scale for public benefit.

Broad incumbents

• Forestry England: Public body managing forests, trails, and visitor facilities for recreation and conservation. Similar mix of paid car parking, membership, and on-site retail at multiple nature-based sites.
• English Heritage: Charity that manages historic sites and landscapes for public access, with memberships, events, and educational programming. Comparable business model around visitor attractions on conserved land.
• RSPB: A much larger national bird and wildlife conservation charity operating a federation of nature reserves across the UK. Overlaps significantly on wildlife conservation and reserve management but at national scale.
• The Wildlife Trusts: The umbrella body for 46 independent local Wildlife Trusts. Directly comparable at the federation/mission level but operates at national scale rather than at single-council-area scope.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TorCoastCountry
• Facebookfacebook.com/torbaytrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/torbaycountryside

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust